September Catch Up

Whoa! It's been a minute since I posted anything. But, I'm ok with that. We are deep in a season of busy activity. 

The RHSMB performed in their first competition at a neighboring high school on Sept 6, and they did great! They captured several caption awards, as well as the highest score of all bands at the festival. It's nice to see them kick off the season with such a strong showing.

Happy to be sitting by friends and family on a really chilly evening!

The following weekend was our turn to host the festival. Over 2100 performers, and between 3000-5000 spectators descended on our high school for one of the largest festivals in the region. And it went great! It was a warm day, but no rain. I volunteered at the high school on Friday to help prepare for the event. Then, my mom and I volunteered at the check-in table on Saturday morning and afternoon. I went back several hours later to help with garbage duty (yuck.) But no one had signed up, so another band mom and I took one for the team to help out. We were able to walk for several hours and chit-chat, plus we made it a point to be in the stadium when the RHSMB performed. But, man, was I exhausted that night. Over 21,000 steps!

Love the trumpet feature!

The Pink Out football game also took place later in the week!

The following weekend, Scott and I headed to LaCrosse, WI, to celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary. 20! Neither of us had spent time in LaCrosse before, and it was just as pretty as I was hoping. We stayed in downtown LAX, and walked by the river on Friday night, followed by a lovely dinner at a local wine bar. On Saturday, we toured a local historical house and walked through more of the downtown area. We then headed up to Grandad's Bluff, which has a beautiful view of the area. The bluffs are impressive, and it's easy to see why people would want to live there. It reminded me a tiny bit of Colorado. Sigh. 

For dinner that night, we enjoyed meals at a French restaurant (it's good to get Scott to try something new once in a while), and then we strolled through downtown. We stopped at a local bookstore and then purchased some souvenirs for Arya and G. Our hotel was great, but we were both happy to head home in the morning. I've spent a lot of time in Wisconsin over the last three months...River Falls, Milwaukee, Madison, and LaCrosse. I enjoy exploring new places!

My fancy French dessert

Our 20th anniversary was this past Wednesday, but with Arya at marching band practice that night and me taking a 6:45p.m. yoga class, we were like ships passing in the night. But last night (Friday), after I went to the final hour of rehearsal, and Arya had come home, we were all in the family room together for about an hour. And it was glorious!

There are only three weeks of marching band left, and they are going to be jam-packed. But then, it's all done. Last night was the first time I had seen the closer for the show, and it was chaotic and fun and wonderful, and for the first time, I teared up (while also smiling) knowing this was coming to an end. Crazy.

G has adjusted well to middle school. He has made new friends, is getting good grades, and likes the change of pace. I returned to a hybrid work schedule this past week, which I had been dreading for several months. But it was nice to see people again, and I was pretty productive when I was in the office (even with people stopping by to chat). The only bummer is that I need to come home over lunch each day to let Pria out. It's just too long for her to go between the time I leave in the morning until Arya or G gets home from school. 

Huge rainstorm last week...We got almost 4" of rain overnight!

Silly Arya taking photos with my phone when I leave the room...

Tomorrow we have some fun family time at the orchard scheduled. The weather is supposed to be lovely, and I'm looking forward to spending time with my favorite people!